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  • Writer's pictureRosa Vuorela

My happy place - The Art of Climbing a Mountain in the Himalayas

Päivitetty: 21. helmik. 2023


Are you ready to go to the roof of the world, the Himalayas of Nepal? Of course you’ve improved your physical condition, but have you remembered to stretch the limits of your mind as well?


Mera Peak High Camp at sunrise.
Mera Peak High Camp at sunrise.

You’ll start your hike in a very exciting way if you choose Lukla, the most dangerous airport in the world, as your starting point. A short runway towards the mountain wall gets you accelerated to the appropriate frequency. You are now in Nepal and you have to get used to living on the edge.



Tenzing - Hillary Airport in Lukla.
Tenzing - Hillary Airport in Lukla.

The approach starts with trekking through “Nepal flat”, which might be exhausting. However, the fatigue isn’t your concern, but altitude sickness, stomach flu and “Khumbu cough” are real problems. Because of thin air, your heart beats fast and you can’t sleep properly.


Paiyu in Nepal
Paiyu.


 Nepali prayer flag and forest landscape in the mountains


When you finally cross the tree line and see an endless sea of rocks, rolling towards the sheer giant walls of the mountains, whose peak reaches far above the clouds, you can only wonder how reaching their peak would ever be possible.



Khote in Nepal. A village on the way to Mera Peak
Khote

.


Tagnak 4300 m in Nepal.
Do you notice the lodge down in the valley? Tagnak 4300 m.



Khare 4850 m in Nepal.
Khare 4850 m.



But in the middle of the night, a small group starts their journey in the dark, the only lights being the stars, the moon and headlights. You climb higher and higher with them, until the sun rises and illuminates the earth’s horizon, bringing new hope. Finally, after many grueling hours you’ll reach the summit and you’ve come to my happy place, the most beautiful place in the world.



Mera Peak high camp 5780 m.
Mera Peak high camp 5780 m.


 Sunrise above the clouds on the way to the top of Mera Peak.
Sunrise above the clouds on the way to the top of Mera Peak.

Me and our guide, Sherpa Dawa Lama on top of the Mera Peak (6476 m) 26/11/2021.
Me and our guide, Sherpa Dawa Lama on top of the Mera Peak (6476 m) 26/11/2021.

Our group descending after the summit.
Our group descending after the summit.


You’ve achieved your goal, but this is only half way home, where you start thinking about how to get here again, as soon as possible.

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